Sharkopath
|name = Sharkopath |kingdom = Animalia |phylum = Chordata |class = Chondricthyes |order = Lamniformes |image = Documentary= |-|VR= }} The '''sharkopath' is a species of pack-hunting, bioluminescent kitefin shark native to the Global Ocean of 200 million AD. They are the apex predators of the Global Ocean. Evolution The sharks survived the 100 million AD mass extinction, just as they had survived several previous mass extinctions, but the formation of Pangaea II and the Global Ocean presented them with some problems. With a single, vast ocean, prey is now widely dispersed, with large stretches of empty water between prey items, and a single shark hunting randomly would be unlikely to come across enough prey to sustain it. Because of this, one group of sharks evolved to become pack hunters, developing bioluminsescence in order to better communicate with one another. Biology The simple, primitive design of the shark has proved itself extremely effective, and the sharkopath's biology is almost no different to that of its Human era ancestors. One of its few new features is a series of bioluminescent patches running along its sides, creating a light which penetrates the water and can be picked up by a sharkopath's closest neighbour. This bioluminescence is controlled by the sharkopath's brain. Human era sharks had highly-evolved sensory organs: thousands of small pits in their heads, which deteced water pressure changes and electric discharges: and cells in their nasal passages which picked up traces of prey. The sharkopath retains all of these sensory organs, and has even improved upon them: the ridges on its head contain organs which sense the slightest trace of scent. Behaviour .]] Sharkopaths are pack-hunting animals which patrol to the ocean in loose groupings. When a sharkopath detects prey, it begins to flash the luminescent patches on its sides, alerting its neighbours that prey is nearby. As the scent becomes stronger, the flashing becomes more and more rapid. Ecology Sharkopaths are generalist predators and will hunt most marine animals including silverswimmers, but often work together to hunt the enormous rainbow squid, which congregate in the shallow waters off Pangaea II's southern peninsula during the breeding season. Although rainbow squids can camoflauge themselves, sharkopaths can still detect their presence by using their sensory organs, which pick up on the electrical discharge from the rainbow squid's nervous system. Appearances In the documentary In "The Global Ocean," a pack of sharkopaths hunts a rainbow squid during the squid's mating ceremony in the shallows. The squid tries to camouflage itself, but the sharkopaths can sense the electrical activity of the squid's nervous system and continue to mob it, making it panic and breaking down its camouflage, leaving the sharks to tear it to pieces. And they began to feast on the giant squid In the manga In Chapter VI, "Global Ocean," an ocean flish which ends up underwater after a rainbow squid attack is pursued by a pack of at least seven sharkopaths, but manages to swim back to the surface and fly away. List of appearances *''The Future Is Wild'' **1x11. The Global Ocean **''The Future Is Wild'' (US) *''The Future Is Wild: A Natural History of the Future'' *''The Future Is Wild'' manga **06. Global Ocean *''The Future Is Wild: The Living Book'' *''The Future Is Wild VR'' Notes *Like the other animals of the Global Ocean, the sharkopath does not appear in the animated series. *The Japanese name for the sharkopath (シャークオパス), which is a literal rendering of "sharkopath" into Japanese, is also the Japanese title for the film Sharktopus (2010). In other languages References Navigation Category:Animals Category:Fish Category:Bioluminescent life Category:Organisms of 200 million AD Category:Organisms of the Global Ocean Category:200 million AD